Jaclyn McCosker

Nov 10 Affirmations

Affirmations are not just a hippy voodoo pseudoscience idea. Women’s mags and self-help books have got it right. Affirmations are just plain science, man. Positive thinking: it’s the new reality.

Affirmations require you to silence the negative thoughts, take a break from stress, and try to convince yourself that you have everything under control. This is a powerful psychological tactic. Just like how you take a breath before walking into a job interview or an exam, you can use this same tactic in daily life for greater happiness and success.

If you think you can, you may not. But if you think you can’t, you definitely won’t.

In a way you can call it brainwashing. But you’re brainwashing yourself… in the best way possible. Evidence-based research shows that affirmations actually change the brain on a cellular level (How To Rewire Your Brain).

“Thoughts make a chemical. If you have happy thoughts, then you’re producing chemicals that make you feel happy. Negative, angry thoughts and fearful thoughts also produce chemicals to make you feel how you’re thinking.”

Just like hearing you’re loved over and over makes you feel loved, the negative thoughts in your head actually become reality. So we need to switch it up and make sure our thoughts are positive and self-loving until it becomes the truth. Fake it ’til you make it, baby!

I started my affirmations habit a year ago in India when I was afraid I’d bit off more than I could chew. I was wrong, and I managed it. Within a few months I didn’t need to keep repeating my morning affirmations. I didn’t need them because I was living them.

My personal affirmations are relevant to my anxiety over trying to fix all the world’s problems, and being frustrated that I’m only one person. But I remind myself that I am a powerful agent of change and that only I can decide how I feel.

Here’s how you can make the power of affirmations work for you.

Step 1 – Identify your negative thoughts and what you don’t like about yourself.You might find it helpful to physically write these down. What about your life has triggered you to read this post and decide to take action with affirmations? Focus on that.

Step 2 – Write a response to each negative thought.This you should definitely write down. In response to every negative thought, write the positive response. For example, “I am still hurt” would earn the response of “I accept what I cannot control”. Or the response to “I am too stressed” would be “I am completely at peace”.

Step 3 – Tidy up your responses into a concise affirmation.Cut down what you’ve written so there’s nothing unnecessary and it flows well. Add all your responses together into one affirmation.

Step 4 – Say them out loud three times every morning.When and how often you need to access your affirmations is up to you, but you should be repeating them frequently enough that you know it by heart within a few days. Say it audibly out loud over and over until you know it forwards and backwards.

I’d recommend continuing this practice for 6 months, or until the affirmations start to feel irrelevant to your life. If you were stressed, maybe you’re not stressed anymore. If you were hurt, maybe you’re not mad about it anymore.

Whatever it is, don’t rest until you’ve attained it. Your mind is yours alone, and only youget to choose its thoughts. Reign your mind in and take control over how you feel.